Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Wake up call...

This morning I followed my typical routine: awake at 5:00AM - secure a hot cup of coffee before heading downstairs to let the dogs out of their crates - turn on the news (mostly for background noise and to notice the weather so that I know how to dress for the day) - and begin writing.

I usually start with my morning pages (750 words), move on to my devotion reading plans at You Version, and then proceed to the writing prompts of Project 137. By this time it is usually time to return upstairs and prepare for the day.

This morning was typical is all those ways until....I read one of Patti Digh's prompts:

Capture six moments today when you felt fully alive

This may not be such a difficult writing assignment for many of you, but it stopped me in my tracks. SIX?! I'm not sure I could name one moment a day when I feel fully alive. And that got me to thinking....

What does it mean to be "fully live"?

How long have I simply "existed" - going through the motions of the daily routines without really engaging in life?

Have I lived such a dormant lifestyle that revival to a "fully alive" is state possible --- I would settle for once a day, but is it really possible to achieve that status six times in a 24-hour period?

How can I begin to add "fully alive" activities to my day and/or change my attitude towards the mundane activities so that I fully engage in the moment?

I have not had time to answer any of these questions yet - but I plan to spend some serious time contemplating each one. In the mean time, I would be curious to hear your thoughts on this subject.

4 comments:

Interesting questions - you probably do need to have a definitely of "fully alive" to start. based on what I guess I would consider "fully alive," I doubt most of us find that half a dozen times a day. Tonight I had a sliced tomato, straight out of my garden. It's something I live for all year and it makes me so happy to eat them. But would I say I was "fully alive?" Very happy, yes. Fully alive, probably not. I think I shoot for happiness every day.

Our morning starts sound very similar...I start at 7am, let my two Newfoundlands out, hand write my Morning Pages in a journal and read my devotions in a Bible in a Year, although I also have really enjoyed devotions in YouVersion.com.

I also understand the 'fully alive' challenge. I spend so much time wishing I was somewhere else, or planning for the future, that I often forget to focus on living in the moment.